Abhay — Lit., “fearless.” The name given to Śrīla Prabhupāda at birth.

* Abhaya — one of the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He was killed by Bhīma. (Droṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

* abhidheya — the regulated activities of the soul for reviving his relationship with the Lord; devotional service.

abhidheya — The stage of performing regulated activities to revive one’s relationship with the Lord.

abhij˝a — Self-knowing, or fully cognizant.

abhimāna — False identification with a material body.

Abhimanyu — The
only son of Arjuna and Subhadrā. He was a promising heir to the Kuru
dynasty but died in the Battle of Kurukṣetra while still in his teens.
He left his widow, Uttarā, pregnant with Parīkṣit.

* Abhimanyu — the heroic son Arjuna and Subhadrā. He was killed by the Son of Duḥśāsana. (Droṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

abhiras — A
degraded tribe of nomadic cowherds. The gopas of Vraja are sometimes
disparagingly called Abhiras even though they are actually proper
vaiśyas.

abhiṣeka — A ceremonial bath performed in the worship of a Deity or the coronation of a king.

* abhiṣeka — a bathing ceremony, particularly for the coronation of a king or the installation of the Lord's Deity form.

* Absolute Truth — the ultimate source of all energies.

* Acala — a brother of Śakuni. He was killed by Arjuna. (Droṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

ācamana — Purification by water and mantra.

* ācamana — a ritual of purification in which one sips water and simultaneously chants names of the Supreme Lord.

ācārya — One
who teaches by personal example. Ācāryas in the pure Vaiṣṇava line
instruct people and initiate them into the Supreme Lord’s devotional
service.

* ācārya — a spiritual master who teaches by his own example, and who sets the proper religious example for all human beings.

acchā — A common Hindi expression meaning, “I see,” or, “Is that so?”

* acchha — good, 0K, all right.

acintya — Inconceivable.

* acintya — inconceivable.

* acintya-bhedābheda-tattva — Lord
Caitanya’s “simultaneously one and different” doctrine, which
establishes the inconceivable, simultaneous oneness and difference of
the Lord and His expansions.

acintya-śakti — Inconceivable potency.

* Acintya-śakti — the inconceivable energy of the Supreme Lord.

* acit — the inert material nature; without life or consciousness

acyuta — Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu, “who never falls.”

* Acyuta — a name for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can never fall down from His position.

* Acyutāyus — he fought on the side of Duryodhana. He and his brother Śrutāyus were killed by Arjuna. (Droṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

* adhikārī — one who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa and is engaged in His service.

adhīra — One who is not sober or whose senses are not controlled.

* adhīra — restless ecstasy of love for Kṛṣṇa.

* Adhiratha — foster
father of Karṇa. He was a charioteer by profession. He one day found
the child Karṇa floating in the Ganges in a basket. His wife was barren
and happily he took the child home and gave it to his wife.

* adhirūḍha — an advanced symptom of mahā-bhāva found only in the gopīs.

* Adhiyaj˝a — the Supersoul, the plenary expansion of the Lord in the heart of every living being.

adhokṣaja — A name of Lord Viṣṇu, meaning “He who is beyond the reach of the material senses.”

* Adhokṣaja — a
name for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond material
sense perception, who is not perceivable by impure material senses.

ādi-līla — Initial pastimes, such as the first twenty-four years of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes; the portion of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta recounting those pastimes.

* Ādi-līlā — the first twenty-four years of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes.

* Ādi-puruṣa — the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, the original person.

Aditi — Dakṣa’s
oldest daughter, a wife of Kaśyapa. She gave birth to twelve sons,
including the eleven principal demigods (such as Sūrya, Varuṇa, and
Indra) and the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Vāmana.

* Aditi — the mother of the demigods.

Ādityas — Aditi’s
twelve sons: Sūrya, Aryamā, Pūṣā, Tvaṣṭā, Savitā, Bhaga, Dhātā,
Vidhātā, Varuṇa, Mitra, Indra, and Lord Vamana. They rule the universe
as the principal demigods during the period of the current Manu,
Vaivasvata.

* Ādityas — the demigods who are descendants of Kaśyapa Muni’s wife, Aditi.

* Advaita Prabhu — see: Advaitācārya.

* advaita — nondual; without differentiation.

* advaita-siddhānta — the
conclusion of the monists, namely, that the Absolute Truth and the
individual living entity are separate in the material state, but that
when they are spiritually situated there is no difference between them.

* advaita-vāda — the philosophy of absolute oneness taught by Śaṅkarācārya, and whose conclusion is advaita-siddhānta.

Advaita-vādīs — Proponents
of the impersonal philosophy of “oneness,” which claims that the
Absolute Truth, one without a second, is ultimately formless and that
whatever has name and form is an illusion falsely imposed on that
impersonal Absolute Truth. See Māyāvādīs.

* Advaita-vādīs — atheistic philosophers who say all distinctions are but material illusions. See also: Māyāvādīs

* Advaitācārya — an incarnation of Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu, who appeared as one of the four principal associates of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

* Agastya Muni — a
great sage who authored many Vedic hymns and writings on Āyurvedic
medicine. The son of Mitra and Varuṇa, he was born from a water jar.
Once he swallowed the ocean and forced the Vindhya mountain range to
prostrate itself before him.

* agastya — the mind.

Agha — (-asura) A demon who assumed the form of a huge python, swallowed Kṛṣṇa and the cowherd boys, but was killed by Kṛṣṇa.

* Āgneyāstra — a powerful weapon belonging to the demigod Agni. Arjuna received this weapon from his preceptor, Droṇa.

Agni — The principal demigod who rules fire.

* Agni — the demigod who controls fire. He took the form of a brāhmaṇa and begged charity from Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. He then consumed the Khāṇḍava forest.

agnihotra — The first and simplest Vedic fire sacrifice, to be performed daily at sunrise and sunset by initiated brāhmaṇas. It is also a subsidiary ritual within each of the more complex sacrifices (yaj˝as). Often the term agnihotra is used to indicate fire sacrifices in general.

* Agnihotra-yaj˝a — the ceremonial fire sacrifice offered to the demigod Agni performed in Vedic rituals.

* Agnistoma — a
sacrifice performed by a person who wants go to heaven. A minimum of
sixteen priests are required for this sacrifice, which lasts five days.

* Agrahāyaṇa — a name for the month of Mārgaśirṣa (November/December). In contemporary Vaiṣṇavism it is known as the month of Keśava.

aguru — Aquilaia agallocha,
a large evergreen tree with fragrant wood. An auspicious fragrance
derived from the wood of the aloe tree (not the same as Aloe vera).

* ahaitukī — without cheating motivation.

ahaṁ brahmāsmi — Sanskrit for “I am spirit.”

* ahaṁ brahmāsmi — the Vedic aphorism “I am spirit.”

* ahaṁ māmeti — the false conception of “I” and “mine [SB 5.5.8].”

* ahaṅgraha-upāsanā — a Māyāvādī’s worship of his own body as the Supreme; self-worship in general.

ahaṅkāra — False
ego, the first and most subtle of the separated elements of material
creation. By its influence, conditioned souls assume temporary material
identities.

* ahaṅkāra — false ego, by which the soul misidentifies with the material body.

ahiṁsa — Nonviolence.

* ahiṁsā — nonviolence.

Airāvata — The elephant who carries Lord Indra. Airāvata appeared from the churning of the Milk Ocean and has four tusks and seven trunks.

aiśvarya — majesty, opulence.

* aiśvarya-j˝āna-yukta — emotion with an understanding of the Lord’s full opulences.

* Aiśvarya-līlā — the Lord’s pastimes of opulence.

* Aja — a name for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is unborn.

* ājagara-vṛtti — the occupation of a python.

* ajam — unborn.

Ajāmila — A brāhmaṇa
whose attraction to a prostitute led him into sinful life but who was
saved by his deathbed cries for his son Nārāyaṇa, cries that brought the
messengers of Lord Nārāyaṇa to stop those of Yamarāja from dragging him
to hell.

* Ajāmila — a fallen brāhmaṇa who was saved from hell by unintentionally chanting the Lord’s name at the time of death.

* Ajita — the Supreme Lord who is unconquerable.

* Aj˝a — a description of Kṛṣṇa indicating that nothing is unknown to Him.

* aj˝āta-sukṛti — pious or devotional activity performed accidentally, without knowledge of its effect.

* ajowan seeds — tiny, light-brown spice seeds closely related to caraway and cumin with a very strong, thyme and oregano flavour. Ajowan, Carum ajowan
is used in many North Indian savoury dishes, especially in fried
snacks. Ajowan aids digestion and is to relieve stomach problems. The
seeds keep indefinitely are available from Indian Middle Eastern
grocers.

* akāma-bhakta — one who serves the Lord without material motive.

* akarma (naiskarma) — action
for which one suffers no reaction because it is performed in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness; free from material desire; one who is desireless.

* ākāśa — sky.

* Akhila-rasāmṛta-mūrti — Kṛṣṇa, the transcendental form of attraction for all kinds of devotees.

aki˝cana — without material desires.

* aki˝cana — one who possesses nothing in the material world.

* Aki˝cana-gocara — Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is easily approached by those who are materially exhausted.

Akrūra — A distant relative whom Kṛṣṇa considered His uncle and who on Kaṁsa’s order brought Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma from Vraja to Mathurā.

* Ākūti — one of Svāyambhuva Manu’s three daughters and the wife of Ruci.

Ālabandāru — The Tamil name of Yamunācārya. See Yamunā (-ācārya).

* Alakāpurī — the residence ot Kuvera, the treasurer of the demigods. It sits on a peak in the Himālayas.

* Alambuṣa — a Rākṣasa who was killed by Ghaṭotkaca. (Droṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

* ālasya — laziness, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

* Alāyudha — a Rākṣasa who fought on the side of Duryodhana. He was killed by Ghaṭotkaca. (Droṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

* alfalfa sprouts — the nutritional content of the seeds of the perennial plant Medicado sativa,
alfalfa, is increased dramatically when they are sprouted. Alfalfa
sprouts contain 40% protein and are very high in vitamins A, B, and C,
as well as B vitamins, and the vitamins K and U. Alfalfa sprouts also
contain good amounts of sodium, potassium, sulphur, phosphorus, and
magnesium. The high nutrition, as well as the mild, slightly sweet
flavour of alfalfa sprouts make them a popular salad ingredient.

* Alolupa — a son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He was killed by Bhīma. (Droṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

* alu — potato

* Alwars — Tamil Nadu saints who were devotees of Lord Viṣṇu.

Amala-purāṇa — lit., “spotless Purāṇa” ; refers to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

* Āmalakī — a
tree that Nārada Muni brought from the spiritual world to the material
realm to please the Supreme Lord. Its fruits are very rich in vitamin C.

* Āmānī — food that is not offered to Lord Jagannātha.

* amarakośa — a Sanskrit dictionary and thesaurus widely used in the teaching of Sanskrit.

* amarāvatī — the capital city of Lord Indra's heavenly abode. It has the power of greatly extending the life span of its residents.

* amarṣa — anger, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

* amātya — the governor of the senses, the mind.

* Amāvasyā — the dark-moon night, or the night of the new moon, when various sacrifices are offered to both demigods and demons.

* Ambā — Older sister of Ambikā and Ambālikā and daughter of the King of Kāśi. She was abducted by Bhīṣma during her svayaṁvara,
but she wanted to marry Śālva. She did penance to please Lord Śiva and
she received a benediction she could take birth in her next life as a
son of King Drupada. (Ādi Parva in Mahābhārata)

* Ambālikā — Youngest
of the daughters of the King of Kāśi. She was married to Vicitravīrya.
When Vicitravīrya died early, she begot Pāṇḍu by the great sage Vyāsa.
(Ādi Parva in Mahābhārata)

Ambarīṣa — A
saintly Vaiṣṇava king famous for using all his resources and bodily
activities in devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Angered by a minor
accidental fault of the king’s, the sage Durvāsā tried to kill him, but
Lord Viṣṇu sent the Sudarśana disc to attack Durvāsā, who finally had
to beg the king’s forgiveness.

* Ambikā — Second
daughter of the King of Kāśi. She married Vicitravīrya. Later when
Vicitravīrya died, she begot Dhṛtarāṣṭra by the great sage Vyāsa. (Ādi
Parva in Mahābhārata)

* amchoor — a tan coloured powder
made from grinding small sun-dried green mangoes. Amchoor is used in
North Indian dishes to give a slightly sour, pungent taste. It is a
predominant flavour in the spice blend called chat masala and is available at all Indian grocery stores.

amṛta — The “nectar of immortality” that demigods in Svarga drink to give them fabulously long lives.

Ananta — (Ananta
Śeṣa, Śeṣa Nāga) 1. An expansion of God who appears as a serpent with
thousands of heads and who serves as the bed of Lord Viṣṇu. Ananta Śeṣa
holds all the planets of the universe on His hoods and constantly sings
the glories of Viṣṇu from all His mouths. 2. Unlimited.

Aṅgada — One of the leaders of the monkey army that helped Lord Rāmacandra defeat Ravana.

* Aṅgirā Ṛṣi — one of the seven sages of the first Manvantara, all of whom were born directly from Lord Brahmā. One of the Prajāpatis, he is the author of the Vedic writings on astronomy.

* angrezi — English. The term is extended in Vrndavan to mean ‘foreigner’.

* anilāyāma — See:Prāṇāyāma

aṇimā-siddhi — The yogic perfection of making oneself smaller than an atom.

* aṇimā-siddhi — mystic power by which one can become as small as an atom so that he can enter into stone.

Aniruddha — A
son of Pradyumna and grandson of Kṛṣṇa. Aniruddha’s eternal consort,
Ūṣā, sequestered him in the palace of her father, Bāṇa, where Aniruddha
was captured and had to be rescued by Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, and the Yādava
army. He appears in Dvārakā and Mathurā as the fourth of the original
quadruple vyūha expansions of the Supreme Lord, and He again
expands from Lord Nārāyaṇa in Vaikuṇṭha, in the second quadruple, as the
ruler of intelligence.

* Aniruddha — a grandson of Lord Kṛṣṇa; also one of the four original expansions of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the spiritual world.

* anise seeds — the highly aromatic seeds of the annual herb Pimpinella anisum.
These greenish-gray, slightly crescent-shaped seeds have a very strong
licorice-like flavour and odour, although they are not related to the
perennial plant of the pea family whose sweet roots are the source of
true licorice. Although anise is generally used as a flavouring for
drinks, sweets, and creams, it is delicious sauteed in ghee or oil and cooked in vegetable dishes such as Cabbage, Potato and YogurtwithAnise. Anise seeds are available at supermarkets and specialty stores.

* anna — food grains.

anna-maya — According to the Taittirīya Upaniṣad, the lowest level of consciousness in embodied life, the level in which one lives just to eat.

* Anna-prāśana — the ceremony of offering a child his first food grains; one of the ten purificatory saṁskāras.

annakūṭa — The ceremony of offering grains; may refer to the ceremony of offering grains to Govardhana Hill.

* annamaya — (consciousness) absorbed only in food.

* Annapurna — Durgā manifested in her form of supplier of food.

* antaraṅga-sevā — service performed in one’s spiritual body.

* Antardhāna — Vijitāśva, the eldest son of King Pṛthu.

* antarikṣa — outer space.

* Antaryāmī — the expansion of the Supreme Lord situated in everyone’s heart as Supersoul, the indwelling controller.

* antipasto — a
light starter or an appetizer served before an Italian meal. It can
also be used as a light snack. Vegetables and salads (served raw or
lightly cooked), make delicious antipasto, as do simple hot dishes,
fried breads (crostini), or miniature pizzas.

antya-līlā — The last eighteen years of Lord Caitanya’s manifest pastimes; the portion of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta recounting those pastimes.

* Antya-līlā — the last eighteen years of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes.

* antyajas — an outcaste.

* aṇu-atma — the minute spirit soul, who is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa.

anubhāva — The ecstatic symptoms that follow from and increase one’s main relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

* anurasa — second-class type of rasābhāsa, occurring when something is derived from the original mellow.

* anusara — trying to follow in the footsteps.

* anusūyā — the wig of Atri Muni, the sage among the demigods. She is the mother of three-headed Lord Dattātreya.

* Anuvinda — a
King of Avanti. He and his brother, Vinda, were the brothers of
Mitravindā, who was married to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Both brothers were
inimical to Lord Kṛṣṇa and were killed by Arjuna. (Droṇa Parva in
Mahābhārata)

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam — Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī’s definition of pure devotional service as being free from any other desire than the desire to server Kṛṣṇa.

* apāna-vāyu — one of the internal bodily airs which is controlled by the aṣṭāṅga-yoga system. The apāna-vāyu travels downwards.

* aparā prakṛti — the inferior material energy of the Lord.

* aparā vidyā — material knowledge

aparādha — An offense, especially against the Supreme Lord or His devotees.

* aparādha — an offense.

* Aparājita — one of the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He was killed by Bhīmasena. (Droṇa Parva in Mahābhārata)

* aparasa — third-class type of rasābhāsa, occurring when something is appreciated that is far removed from the original mellow.

aprakaṭa-līlā — Kṛṣṇa’s
“unmanifest pastimes,” which go on eternally in His abodes, all
simultaneously, but are invisible except to rare, fortunate souls. In
contrast, His prakaṭa, or “manifest,” pastimes are visible to the public but only at specific times in a linear sequence of events.

* Apsarā — a heavenly courtesan. The most beautiful women in the heavenly planets, who are expert at dancing.

Apsarās — The dancing girls of heaven, wives of Gandharvas, sometimes engaged by Indra to distract yogis from their meditations.

Āraṇyakas — The parts of the original Vedas that give more esoteric explanations than do the Brāhmaṇas. The Āraṇyakas are meant for renunciants to study in the forest (araṇya). The Upaniṣads are chapters of the Āraṇyakas that explain the philosophical essence of the Vedas.

ārati — A
standard ceremony of worship with offerings of lamps, fans, incense,
fiowers, bathing water, and other items. Its origin is the custom of
greeting a guest to one’s home at night (ā-rātrikam) with a lamp.

* ārati — a
ceremony in which one greets and worships the Lord in the Deity form of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead by offering Him incense, a flame in a
lamp with ghee-soaked wicks, a flame in a lamp containing camphor,
water in a conchshell, a fine cloth, a fragrant flower, a
peacock-feather, and yak-tail wisk, accompanied by bell-ringing and
chanting.

aravinda — A species of lotus that blooms during the day and closes at night.

* Aravindakṣa — a name of the Lord meaning one whose eyes are as beautiful as lotus petals.

* arbuda-arbuda — various types of śravaṇa and kīrtana of the Supreme Lord’s name, quality, form and so on.

* Arcā-mūrti — See: Arcā-vigraha below.

arcā-vigraha — Deity (lit. “worshipable form”).

* Arcā-vigraha — an
authorized form of God manifested through material elements, as in a
painting or statue of Kṛṣṇa worshiped in a temple or home. Actually
present in this form, the Lord accepts worship from His devotees.

arcana — The process of Deity worship.

* Arcana — the procedures followed for worshiping the arcā-vigraha, the Deity in the temple; engaging all the senses in the service of the Lord.

* Arci — the wife of King Pṛthu.

* ardha-bāhya — half-external consciousness.

arghya — Water
mixed with auspicious substances and offered to an honored guest,
either sprinkled on their head or offered into their hands.

* arghya — a ceremonious offering, in a conchshell, of water and other auspicious items.

* arhar dal — see: Toovar dal.

* ari — impediments like disease.

Ariṣṭa — A demon who assumed the form of a bull, attacked Vraja, and was killed by Kṛṣṇa.

* Ariṣṭāsura — a demon who took the form of a bull and tried to kill Lord Kṛṣṇa.

* Arjama — the demigod in charge of Pitṛloka, the planet were qualified departed ancestors reside.

* Ārjava — a brother of Śakuni who was killed by Irāvān. (Bhīṣma Parva in Mahābhārata)

arjuna trees — Two trees of the arjuna
species that stood in the courtyard of Nanda Mahārāja until Kṛṣṇa
uprooted them. Formerly sons of Kuvera, they had been cursed to stand as
trees until delivered by Kṛṣṇa.

Arjuna — The
third of the five Pāṇḍava brothers. A great bowman, he figured
prominently in winning the Kurukṣetra battle, with Kṛṣṇa driving his
chariot. It was to Arjuna that Kṛṣṇa spoke the Bhagavad-gītā just before the battle.

* Arjuna — the third son of Pāṇḍu and intimate friend of Lord Kṛṣṇa. After Pāṇḍu was cursed by a sage, Kuntī used a special mantra
to beget children and called for the demigod Indra. By the union of
Indra and Kuntī, Arjuna was born. In his previous life he was Nara, the
eternal associate of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Kṛṣṇa became his chariot driver and
spoke the Bhagavad-gītā to him on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra.

arka — A large-leafed plant whose leaves are used in sacred rituals.

* arrowroot — a very fine white starch derived from the rootstock of the South American tropical plant Maranta arundinacea.
Arrowroot is used much like cornflour in sauces, except that it is a
non-grain flour and thickens at a lower temperature. It is also used as a
binding agent. It is available at most supermarkets or grocers.

Ārṣṭiṣeṇa — The chief among the citizens of Kimpuruṣa-varṣa, who have bodies half human and half animal.

artha — Economic development, one of the four standard goals of human life.

* artha — economic development.

artha-vāda — The statements of śruti
that praise, encourage, or explain rather than enjoin ritual duties.
The term is sometimes used perjoratively to indicate flowery praise that
cannot be taken literally.

* Aruṇa gems — rubies decorating Kṛṣṇa’s flute.

ārya — A civilized human being, one who lives according to the standards of the Vedic culture.

Aryamā — The chief of the departed forefathers residing in Pitaloka. He sometimes stands in for Yamarāja, the judge of the dead.

* Aryamā — the demigod in charge of Pitṛloka, the planet where qualified departed ancestors reside.

* Aryan — a
follower of Vedic culture. A person whose goal is spiritual
advancement. He truly knows the value of life and has a civilization
based on spiritual realization.

Āryans — Persons living according to the cultured standards of Vedic civilization.

Āryāvarta — The
“home of the Āryans,” comprising the part of India bounded by seas on
the west and east, by the Himalaya Mountains on the north, and by the
Vindhya Mountains on the south.

* asafoetida — the aromatic resin from the root of the giant fennel, Ferula asafoetida.
Asafoetida (also known as hing) is extracted from the stems of these
giant perennial plants that grow wild in Central Asia. In the spring,
when the plant is about to bloom, the stems and roots are cut. Milky
resin exudes from the cut surface and is scraped off. More exudes as
successive slices of root are removed over a period of 3 months. The
gummy resin is sun-dried into a solid mass that is then sold in solid,
wax-like pieces, or more conveniently, in powdered form. Due to the
presence of sulphur compounds, asafoetida has a distinctive pungent
flavour reminiscent of shallots or garlic. Used in minute quantities, it
adds a delicious flavour to various savoury dishes. Use the mild
Vandevi brand of yellow asafetida powder and not the grey variety.
Asafoetida is available at Indian grocers.

āsakti — Attachment for Kṛṣṇa.

* Asamanya — a king of the solar dynasty, son of Sagara, known for his cruelty.

* asaṁskṛta — unreformed.

* āsana — seat, or throne; a sitting posture in yoga practice.

āsanas — Postures assumed in yoga practice to purify the body and mind; a seat.

aśoka — Saraca indica. Blooming in early March, aśoka flowers are crimson and blossom in bunches. It is said to flower upon being touched by a beautiful woman’s feet.

* aśoka — a tree with long, pointed leaves. Goddess Sītā was placed under an aśoka tree after being kidnapped by Rāvaṇa.

āśrama — 1. The hermitage of a sage or teacher. 2. One of the four stages of spiritual development in the varṇāśrama social system: brahmācarya (celibate student life), gṛhastha (marriage), vānaprastha (retirement), and sannyāsa (the renounced order).

* Āśrama — one of the four spiritual orders of life — brahmacārī-āśrama, or student life; Gṛhasta-āśrama, or married life; vānaprastha, or retired life; and sannyāsa-āśrama, or the renounced order of life; the home of the spiritual master, a place where spiritual practices are executed.

āśraya — Shelter.

* Āśraya — the Transcendence, who is the source and support of all; the worshiper.

* Āśraya-vigraha — the manifestation of the Lord of whom one must take shelter.

* Aṣṭāvakra — the founder of Māyāvāda philosophy, which declares that the spiritual effulgence (Brahman) is the cause of all causes.

* Aṣtavakra — a boy sage who won a debate in the court of King Janaka.

asura — Demon or ungodly person, who oppose the demigods and the service of the Lord.

* asura — demon,
one who does not follow the principles of scripture, atheist, gross
materialist. One who is envious of God, and is averse to the supremacy
and service of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu.

* asuraṁ bhavam āśrita — persons who are openly atheistic.

asuric — Demoniac.

* Āśutoṣa — Lord Śiva, who is very easily satisfied when one worships him. See also: Śiva.

* asūyā — jealousy, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

aśvamedha — The elaborate Vedic horse sacrifice.

* aśvamedha-yaj˝a — a Vedic horse sacrifice. One of eight recommended in the Vedic scriptures, it is performed by kings.

Aśvatthāmā — The
son of Droṇācārya who fought against the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukṣetra. In a
desperate act of revenge at the end of the battle, he killed the five
young sons of the Pāṇḍavas in their sleep and tried to kill the last
remaining heir, Parīkṣit, in his mother’s womb.

* Aṣvatthāmā — the
son of Droṇa. He was a friend of Duryodhana and fought on his side
during the Kurukṣetra battle. He lived through the battle of Kurukṣetra,
but was cursed by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He killed the five sons of Draupadī
when they were awakening from sleep and attempted to kill Parīkṣit when
he was in the womb of Uttarā.

* Āśvina — the third month of the four-month Cāturmāsya fast.

* Aśvinī deities — demigods in charge of the nostrils and sense of smell.

* Aśvinīkumāras — Demigods who begot Nakula and Sahadeva in the womb of Mādrī, the wife of Pāṇḍu.

* Atharva Veda — one of the four Vedas,
the original revealed scriptures spoken by the Lord Himself, consisting
primarily of formulas and chants designed to counteract the effects of
disease and calamity.

* Atibāri-sampradāya — bogus
disciplic succession coming from an Orissan named Jagannātha dāsa, who
was a contemporary of Lord Caitanya. Initially, he was a follower of
Haridāsa Ṭhākura, but he later rejected him.

atimukta flowers — a type of jasmine.

ātmā — The individual spirit soul, an eternal fragment of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

* ātmā — the self (refers sometimes to the body, sometimes to the soul, and sometimes to the senses).

* atma-hanah — killer of the soul; one who neglects spiritual life.

* ātma-nivedana — the devotional process of surrendering everything to the Lord.

* ātma-samarpaṇa — full surrender to Kṛṣṇa without reservation.

ātma-tattva — Knowledge of the self.

* ātma-tattva — spiritual science.

ātmarāma — Those who find their pleasure in experiencing the self.

* ātmārāma — one who is self-satisfied, free from external, material desires.

* Atri Ṛṣi — one
of the seven great sages born directly from Brahmā;. He is the husband
of Anusūyā and father of the Lord’s incarnation Dattātreya. He
contributed to the knowledge of astronomy.

Atri — A
Vedic sage, born of the mind of Brahma. When Atri prayed to the Supreme
for a son like Him, but without a clear idea of who the Supreme is, the
Lords Viṣṇu, Brahmā, and Śiva all agreed to become his sons as
Dattātreya, Soma, and Durvāsā.

* atta flour — also known as chapati flour,
this low-gluten flour is derived from a strain of soft wheat popular
throughout India. The entire wheat kernel, including the bran, germ, and
endosperm, is ground very finely making a nutritious flour. Atta flour is suitable for all Indian flatbreads, such as pooris, chapatis, and parathas. Doughs made with atta
flour are velvety smooth, knead readily, and respond easily to shaping
and rolling. Atta flour is available from Indian and Asian grocery
stores.

* augrya — violence, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

* autsukya — eagerness, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

avadhūta — A spiritually advanced person whose activities are not restricted by social convention.

* avadhūta — a very saintly and renounced person who may live outside regulative principles, having surpassed any need for them.

* avadhūta — one who is above all rules and regulations.

* avahitthā — concealment, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

* avaiṣṇava — one who is not a Vaiṣṇava.

Avanti — One
of the seven sacred cities that can bestow liberation. Kṛṣṇa’s
spiritual master, Sāndīpani Muni, resided there, and Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma
lived there as students in his āśrama. Avanti has become the modern city of Ujjain, in the western part of Madhya Pradesh.

* avara — material.

* Āvaraṇātmikā — māyā’s “covering” power, by which a conditioned soul feels satisfied in any condition of life.

avatāra — A “descent” of the Supreme Lord to the material world in one of His many forms.

* avatāra — literally
means “one who descends.” A partially or fully empowered incarnation of
the Lord who descends from the spiritual sky to the material universe
with a particular mission described in scriptures.

avatārī — The original Supreme Lord, from whom all avatāras expand.

* āvega — intense emotion, a vyabhicāri-bhāva.

* āveśa — See: Śakty-āveśa.

* āveśa-avatāra — a living being empowered as an incarnation of the Lord’s qualities.

* avyakta — unmanifested; the material creation when it is not yet manifested from the mahat-tattva.

Ayodhyā — The
capital of the Kośala kingdom, inherited by Lord Rāmacandra from His
ancestors. It is located in south-central Uttar Pradesh. The original
Ayodhyā in the eternal kingdom of God lies above the other Vaikuṇṭha
worlds and below Goloka Vṛndāvana.

* Ayodya — a city in
North India, capital of the kings of the Ikavaku (solar) dynasty.
Today, it is till the chief Holy City of Lord Rama's devotees.

* ayoga — See: viyoga.

* Ayukta — the ecstatic condition of not having yet met one’s lover.

* āyurveda — the
section of the Vedas which expounds the Vedic science of medicine
delivered by Lord Dhanvantari, the incarnation of the Supreme Lord as a
physician. He was born out of the ocean of milk when it was churned by
the demons and demigods in the Satya-yuga. He expounded on the three
categories of medicine.